Living Hope Leads God’s People to Holy Living

Introduction

Welcome!

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Stay alert this weekend with the storm. We will send an email/text/social media post if we do cancel. The plan is, if so, to have a message on YouTube and Facebook that will come live at our normal worship time.

February is almost here! Business Meeting on 2/15 at 5pm with Soup/Sandwiches/Sundaes to follow. We’re providing sandwiches and sundaes, bring a soup/dessert if able for fellowship afterward

Prayer Requests

Chuck/Vanece - traveling to Dallas + procedure

Blake/Debbie Hayworth - at IMB HQ in Richmond, expected to get heavy snowfall/ice this weekend. Safe travel

Number of folks battling sicknesses

Last week we began this study through 1 Peter together and we were reminded of the miracle of our salvation and the hope that we have in Jesus! We looked at the context of this letter - how Peter addresses this to believers spread abroad the empire. He reminds them, though, that even though they are spread out, they are chosen by God. Though they are experiencing persecution by people, they are loved and protected and known by their heavenly Father! Then Peter talked a whole lot about Jesus and the hope that He gives us.

As you think back on 1 Peter 1:1-12, what stands out to you about the hope that we have as Christians? How have you experienced this hope over the past week?

In a divided world, I’m able to not get sucked into thinking that this world is ultimate and that I have to prove myself. I can rest in the finished work of Jesus and have peace, regardless of my perspective and problems.

Tonight as we continue on in our study, we come to the next major chunk of this book, 1 Peter 1:13-21. This passage is similar to the last few we’ve had in Luke 6 as we’ve been seeing the last few Sunday’s how Jesus calls us to be men and women of action. Last week in Luke 6, we saw Jesus’ command to come to Him, hear His Words, and actually do them. One major danger that exists in our world, and especially within the church, is complacency. As Christians, there is a temptation to think that because we have this hope, we can sit and soak and spectate on the sidelines - but this isn’t our calling. If we say that we believe in the Word, we are supposed to walk that out in our daily lives. One commentator put it like this, “It is no secret that Christ’s Church is not at all in good health in many places of the world. She has been languishing because she has been fed, as the current line has it, “junk food”; all kinds of artificial preservatives and all sorts of unnatural substitutes have been served up to her. As a result, we’re seeing theological and Biblical malnutrition all over the place.” In a world where so many are falling victim to the latest cultural crisis, how can we fulfill our calling and live a holy life?

We must be anchored to Scripture

We need encouragement from others

Tonight’s passage is much of the same. We are not saved to sit, but to serve. The living hope that Jesus gives to us isn’t just supposed to stay in our head, it is to spur us on to holy living! Let’s read this passage, and we’ll dive on in

1 Peter 1:13–21 CSB

13 Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy. 17 If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during your time living as strangers. 18 For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

What a passage and what a high call that God gives to His followers!

This evening we’re going to study this truth: Orthodoxy (right belief) leads to Orthopraxy (right living)

If we believe the right things in God, we will then live the right way for God. Doctrine Demands Devotion! Some call this legalism. I’ve heard this before from folks who don’t want to talk about doctrine. Many people in our world today believe that doctrine divides and that this means that doctrine is bad. Doctrine is simply belief, and we want to believe rightly in the Bible. Doctrine isn’t a bad thing, but it must move from our head to our hearts and our hands! Doctrine fuels Missions and Discipleship. Doctrine fuels my obedience as well. In Luke 6 we saw that trees produce fruit. Good trees produce good fruit. If you want to know if you truly are saved, and have the right belief, one of the first things that you can do is examine your fruit. Am I living right? Am I doing what Jesus commands His followers to do? These are good questions for us to ask so that we don’t just have big heads with dead hands, and so that we don’t have active hands with empty heads. We need both! This evening this is what we’ll see together as we look at these 2 points you see on your outline

How Do We Live a Holy Life? (13-16)

One of the questions that I know I get asked a lot, and maybe you have been asked before is: Are We Living in the End Times? I love this question because I love God’s Word, and God’s Word answers this question for us. The answer is YES, we are living in the End Times! Look at what Peter says later in this book

1 Peter 4:7 CSB

7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer.

2,000 years ago, Peter under inspiration of the Holy Spirit said that the end of all things was near. We have 2 options here: Either God’s Word is wrong, or God views time differently than we do. Of those options, we know that one is correct. God’s Word isn’t wrong. The end is near. This was what these Christians believed. They believed that the return of Jesus was imminent and going to happen soon! But then time began to pass. Loved ones began to die. These Christians began to experience persecution, and Jesus hadn’t returned yet. So they were confused. Concerned. Feeling a little hopeless. That’s why Peter begins this book by anchoring their hope in the unfading hope awaiting us in heaven that cannot be taken away. We can have hope in the midst of our suffering!

How does remembering your identity in Jesus Christ provide you with hope and encouragement to live a holy life?

Jesus doesn’t change, even though our circumstances do! The hope that He provides lasts forever. Because of this, we can fulfill His command in verse 13 and have hope and live the life that He wants us to live under His strength.

How is this hope for holy living different than if it was dependent on your actions alone?

We wouldn’t have hope because we fall short and we’d never be able to rest because there would always be more work to do to earn our way!

Peter wants these believers to understand the fact of the matter and he transitions in verse 13 by essentially calling on them to shift their eyes upward. He will call them to live a holy life - and there are 2 things that have to happen for this to take place. First, we must Know and Obey God’s Word (13-14)

Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you! Remember that Jesus will come again for His blood-bought, born-again brothers and sisters! The idea here is that we are to “Roll up the sleeves of your mind” and prepare your mind for action.

We are commanded to have this hope - this is an imperative verb.

Greek Lesson!

1 Peter wasn’t written first in English, it was written in Greek. This is important for us because there are some things that we could miss that the earliest Christians would have immediately understood, and these things add to our understanding of what God is doing here. In the Greek, you have verbs just like we do in English.

In English, we have action verbs (She run), linking verbs (I feel), and helping verbs (He will). In the Greek you have

Indicative - statements of fact (Jesus walked to Jerusalem)

Imperative - commands (Love your enemies)

Subjunctive - purpose/exhortation/encouragement (Let us draw near to the throne of grace)

Optative - possibility (May the God of grace sanctify you)

Just like we have different verbs in the English, there are different verbs in the Greek. A Bible lesson that blew my mind and has helped me better understand Scripture SO much is this: Imperatives often follow indicatives. Commands often follow statements of fact. To put it simply: Because of WHO God is, I MUST ______. Not the other way around.

Here is a clear example in 2 Cor 5:19-20

2 Corinthians 5:19–20 CSB

19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”

How are we to be reconciled to God? This is a command that God gives to us. We MUST do this. How? Because of what God has already done through the work of Jesus. Imperatives often follow indicatives!

The book of Ephesians is the clearest example of this split in the Bible. 6 chapters in Ephesians and they divide into 2 halves. The first half is full of indicatives - statements of fact about what God has done for us through the work of Jesus. The second half of Ephesians is full of imperative commands for God’s people to do (Walk worthy in Eph 4:1). Why take 5 minutes and mention this? Because of the legalistic weight that can crush your head if you think that imperatives are all on you. You’re crushed by your failures and your obedience is based on performance. But if we only preach indicatives - God loves us - without imperatives - keep His commands - then we become passive and there is no need to grow in our walk with the Lord. This is important - and it applies here in 1 Peter 1 because Peter spent the beginning of chapter 1 last week with a bunch of indicatives, statements of fact. And tonight, we see the transition to some imperatives.

Without the salvation accomplished on the cross by Jesus Christ, the command to have hope is of no use to us because we’re helpless. Our hope is in God’s gift - we have been given hope, therefore the command is to walk in this hope day by day. This means to believe the Gospel and have a certain hope regardless of what today brings - this is our response in faith to the Gospel. Think of the constant strain that would exist if imperatives proceeded indicatives. If we had to do all of these things in order for God to love, choose, adopt, and forgive us. That would be miserable! It’s a blessing in Scripture to see reminder after reminder that God’s truth is unchanging and His commands follow His truth and character. As we remember this truth, we are to set our minds on this hope and be “sober-minded” about it

This means to think clearly about the truth of our salvation. This means that we worship Him alone. We are not to be drunk on earthly priorities and promises… instead, we focus on God and all that He has given to us! Only after we win this battle of the mind will we live right for God’s glory. This is what verse 14 commands of us - we are to be obedient children and live out Romans 12:1-2

Romans 12:1–2 CSB

1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

As you look at Romans 12:1-2 and 1 Peter 1:14, what is our hope to obey and present our bodies as a living sacrifice?

To have a renewed mind and have a changed heart!

Our primary identity is as a member of God’s family - We walk as obedient children even though that means we walk as societal outcasts and persecuted people in this life. We are brought into God’s home as His children as we’ll get into in chapter 2 of 1 Peter as we discover that we are a chosen priesthood and a royal nation. The only way that we can present ourselves in this way is to know and obey God’s Word.

This is one way that we live a holy life, by knowing God’s Word. The second is by walking in holiness (15-16)

This passage calls us to be holy as God is holy and to live a life that honors God! Holiness is the only attribute of God taken to the superlative (extreme) degree in Isaiah 6 as God is holy, holy, holy. Not love, love, love or nice, nice, nice. Holy, holy, holy. This means that God is as set apart and “other” than sin as you can possibly be. This is problematic for us because of what Scripture reminds us over and over of

Romans 3:10 CSB

10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.

Romans 3:23 CSB

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

This isn’t good, but it is important! Before Jesus, we are not righteous. We are not holy. We are sinners who are lost and separated from God. But here in 1 Peter we are called to be holy. This only can happen through the redemption that Jesus Christ brings to us as He redeems us from our sins, and He gives us life and righteousness that aren’t ours in the first place.

As people who are saved, like the people Peter was writing to, we have a command to be holy and set apart from sin. We do this by hating what God hates. Loving what God loves. And measuring everything through His Word.

There is a change that happens whenever you encounter Jesus. You produce fruit that you didn’t use to produce. You stop doing things that you used to do. You see a change. For some of us, that change is that we used to not come to church and now we do. We used to say certain things that we no longer say. We used to live for self, and now we live for Jesus. We do things a different way: God’s!

1 John 2:4–6 CSB

4 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.

JI Packer once said, “Holiness is the healthy growth of morally misshapen humans towards the moral image of Jesus Christ, the perfect man. Their growth is supernatural.” If we are going to grow to be set apart from sin, it will require the supernatural work of God Himself… and this is where knowing our verbs helps us. God won’t command His people to do what He doesn’t supply them to do.

This is what we are supposed to do as a chosen people with a living hope, to live a holy life that is fixed on Jesus and His Word… but we sometimes want to have questions answered for us and one of the most common questions people have about following Jesus is “WHY” would I do that?

Why Should We Live a Holy Life? (17-21)

So often obedience can be seen as legalism or as a a killjoy. People can look at commands in the Bible and begin to ask the “why” questions. Why should I love my enemy? Why should I live this life that other people aren’t living? It’s hard. It’s not easy. It’s costly! All of these things are true… yet, it’s still what God calls us to do. 3 reasons why we should live this holy life:

It is an act of worship to God (17)

We see in verse 17 that we are to conduct ourselves in reverence during our time as strangers. Do you remember the context of this book? This book is written to those chosen but scattered… the saved who are stranded around the Roman Empire who are suffering for their faith in Jesus Christ. Why would they continue to live a holy life whenever it costs them dearly?

Because Christ was all to them. There’s an old Chris Tomlin song called “All to Us” that talks about this very truth

Let the glory of Your name be the passion of the church Let the righteousness of God be a holy flame that burns Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives We believe, You're all to us

Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives - this is our call! To make much of Jesus and to work for Him and to conduct our lives in reverence to Him and His mission while we live here as strangers. We live a holy life in this world because it glorifies our Father

Look at a couple of Scripture passages that address this theme of our works and standing before our Father one day

Psalm 1:5–6 CSB

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Ephesians 2:10 CSB

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

2 Corinthians 5:10 CSB

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

We will appear before this time of judgment. Between the day of our salvation, and this day of judgment, we are supposed to conduct ourselves with fear - meaning that we shouldn’t continue to live in sin so that grace may abound. We should live a changed life that brings glory to our Father and to worship Him as He deserves! We are exiles on this planet. We won’t fit in and that shouldn’t be our priority. Our priority is to please our Father and to be set apart from sin.

Second, It is a way we point others to God (18-19)

Not only does this glorify God but it also points other people towards Him! Notice what verse 18 says, we were redeemed from our empty way of life inherited from our ancestors. That’s harsh language, but many in our world need a wakeup call.

Do most people in our world believe that their life without Christ is empty? How do we know that to be true?

Most do not because they feel as though their life is pleasing to self and not empty. Yet, Scripture tells us that the pursuits of the flesh are vain and like chasing the wind - it’s impossible to be satisfied and filled with the things this world promises!

Our text tells us that this used to be our reality, but Christ has redeemed us from this life - to redeem something means to pay for it. In the ancient world slaves could purchase their own freedom often times after a certain number of years of working and accumulating a certain amount of money to pay for it. They could redeem themselves or someone else could redeem them by paying a price… someone who was freed used to be a slave but now was redeemed. This is our story - we could not pay the price for our redemption, but it was paid for us by Jesus as the Passover Lamb! He took our place. He bore our sin. He substituted Himself. He gives us life! That precious blood of Jesus Christ gives us an imperishable, undefiled, and unfading hope and inheritance. This is good news for today and for tomorrow, but it is also good news for other people around us as we can share with others that we used to be slaves to sin as well but now we are adopted and redeemed sons and daughters of our God! As we live a holy and changed life, we point others to our Savior and Sustainer who shed His blood for sinners like you and me!

Third, It reassures us of our eternal hope (20-21)

The final thing we see that this does is it reassured us of our eternal hope. The same God who raised Jesus from the dead is the same God who will raise us as well if we are in Him. This gives us hope!

This also gives us hope because your salvation and your life itself was not a cosmic accident. We are not the results of random chance… no, we see that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was God’s plan before the foundation of the earth. In other words, this was not God’s reaction to humanity stumbling in the Garden. The text clearly tells us that this was God’s plan before the foundation of the world for His Son to die for us on that cross and to raise from the grave.

The cross was not a disappointing accident, it was a divine appointment! This was God’s Plan A from before the foundation of the earth. Planned in eternity, revealed in history.

Karen Jobes put it like this, “God knew the complete program of redemption before the foundation of the world.”

How does this provide you with hope today in your struggling and suffering?

It helps me to know that I’m not alone - that God knows and has a perfect plan that is truly for my good!

Because of Jesus there is hope for today and for tomorrow. We all know the hymn Because He Lives, there’s a version that provides a praise chorus that gives me the chills every time I sing it

I was dead in the grave I was covered in sin and shame I heard mercy call my name He rolled the stone away

Christian, this is your testimony! Here’s the good news of the Gospel. God is holy and will judge sin and sinners alike… we deserve judgment and separation from God because of our sin… But God who is rich in mercy makes us alive with Christ. He purchases us through the blood of Jesus. We are freed from our old ways of life and we are freed to walk in newness of life - to share our Father’s plan and goodness and grace in this world. As we live as a changed person, this assures us of our eternal home. Dead people don’t walk around - born again people to. Between this day and our last day, we are to grow in holiness and become more and more like Jesus with each step we take. Living Hope Leads God’s People to Holy Living!